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1) If the search engines read the commas, the commas take up additional space.

For example, if the search engine will read the first 150 characters of keywords (just for an example) everytime I put a comma in I am using up one additional character that I didn't have to use. Consequently, if you don't use commas you may be able to get one or two additional keywords in.

2) If the engines are reading commas the commas may inhibit your abilty to form keyword phrases.

For example compare.

saltwater, fishing reels,
vs.
saltwater fishing reels

In that example, someone searching for "saltwater fishing reels" would be taken to the site that did not use commas because it formed a complete phrase.

For the term, fishing reels - both are on an equal footing.

And take a closer look. In the second example in addition to having individual keywords we have three phrases.

I also put commas between keywords! Since that's how the search engines can separate keywords. So if you mean keyphrases, remove some commas.
But if the tag is too long without commas, it is considered one input. Imagine keyword tag can be up to 800-1000 characters!

I've asked about this too - and the opinion seems mixed. But all the web-page checkers that I've tried (including on-line ones) all flag my meta tags as an error if I don't have commas. I'm just about to put all my commas back ...
I think!